TNAG-0979-FCO40-1198-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-British-nationality-1980 — Page 55

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CONFIDENTIAL

88.

(b) to ban dual nationality where it arises voluntarily our citizens

who voluntarily took another citizenship would thereby lose ours, and applicants for our citizenship would have to renounce any other citizen-

ship as a condition of becoming citizens; and

(c) to ban dual nationality only where our citizens voluntarily acquire another nationality.

The correspondence received in response to the Green Paper indicated

fairly evenly divided views on the subject. Much of the comment was on the

lines that since the present tolerance of dual nationality seemed to have

worked reasonably well, it should be allowed to continue, and that it would

be reassuring to a person settling down here if, when obtaining our citizen- ship, he could retain his original one. Other people took the opposite view, saying that people from overseas seeking our citizenship should be expected to demonstrate their commitment to this country by giving up their existing

one.

89.

The Government have considered all the options mentioned in the Green

Paper. They are clear that it would be unnecessarily harsh to make someone

who had acquired another citizenship involuntarily choose between that and

his British Citizenship. They have considered also whether British Citizens

should in future be allowed to retain their Citizenship on acquiring another

one voluntarily: this would normally be by naturalisation in an overseas

country. But it would be very expensive to set up and operate a checking

process which was reasonably effective in identifying such cases.

90. There is perhaps a stronger case for requiring an applicant for British

Citizenship to renounce his former nationality before his naturalisation

becomes complete if only as a sign that he has a genuine attachment to

this country and that he has not sought British Citizenship merely as a

matter of expediency. However, this country has absorbed large numbers of

immigrants in recent years from both foreign and Commonwealth countries, and

it is to be expected that many of them will retain strong links with their

countries of birth; and that they would hope, where the law of that country

allows, to retain their original Citizenship and perhaps pass it on to their

children born here. If the retention of that Citizenship on becoming a

British Citizen will assist them in the process of settling down in this

country then the Government would see this as a good reason for our not

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